Page 23 of Of Sins and Sacrifice

I push against his hold, still debating whether I should just send him flying in the air and wash my hands of this unfortunate situation once and for all. My brother will have my hide, but perhaps he will be understanding once I tell him about this unseemly harassment.

I mean, he called me tiny!

Tiny!

So what if I am tiny? But who says that to someone else’s face? Who even allowed him to speak to me? He should be punished for that alone. I should cut his tongue for daring to do that. He could survive fine without a tongue.

Never mind the fact that he istouchingme. Mayhap I should add his hands to the list of bodily parts I must sever, too. Can humans survive without tonguesandarms? I have heard of war amputees whose limbs were severed to prevent infection and they survived, but I suppose they still had their tongues intact.

If only I could have the freedom to experiment with how many parts I could remove from him before dyingwithoutworrying I might be punished for killing a human…

Alas, I have learned my lesson that humans are quite obnoxious, so I will keep my distance from now on. As long as I don’t interact with them, I won’t feel the urge to kill them, right?

“You must have been taught that all gents are evil, but that’s not true, darling. It’s fine. You can let it all out. I’m here to protect you.” His voice is so damn soft and warm.

Is he…dumb?

I blink slowly as I focus on his features.

His green eyes sparkle as he smiles at me.

He’s not joking. He actually believes I’m some mere girl in need of saving when, in fact,heis the one who will need saving.

In a moment or two. Once I decide if breaking the rules is worth the future punishment.

I might be annoyed, but I have to admit that the cigarette smell is not all that obnoxious, especially combined with leather and spice.

Minerva! Focus!

“Get your hands off—” A loud noise coming from above cuts my words off.

It’s a buzzing, almost static type of noise.

He looks up, too, face scrunched in concern.

Everything happens so fast. One moment, we’re searching for the source of the noise. The next, his arms are around me, shielding me from a deafening explosion.

A burst of light erupts in the darkness, illuminating the surroundings.

“What…” I mutter, my eyes growing wide with shock.

Tendrils of fire blaze in the air, accompanied by shrilling screams of pain.

Another loud explosion, and debris flies in the air, together with smoke and fumes.

The previously dark sky of the night is now a thousand shades of gray and small, almost translucent yellow stripes reflecting the fire below.

“You good, tiny darling?” His voice penetrates my mind.

I slowly turn to face him.

The power of the explosion had propelled both of us backward and onto the ground. His arms are still around me, holding tightly—too tight.

My mouth parts as I get ready for another set down, but I don’t even have time to speak as cries for help erupt in the air, together with wails of sorrow and screams of pain.

The stillness of the night is no longer still. It’s clogged with suffering…and death.

He pulls me to my feet, looking me over a couple of times before he nods to himself. His features are tense, the scar on the right side of his face more prominent than before.

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